Advanceshipping Week 2017
by ZachaRicO
Summary: A week of ultra fun with our favorite Pokemon couple!
1. Day 1: Stargazing

**After skipping out last year, I'm back for another Advanceshipping Week!**

 **Day 1: Stargazing**

* * *

There was neither sun nor moon in the sky. There was no great light in the sky. There were only little dots in the sky, glimmering in the endless sea of space. Tonight, they had no number, for they practically covered the sky in their light.

There was no better place to view this spectacle than from the farthest hollow of Ten Carat Hill. From there the constellations of both the Sunne and the Moone could be seen, a rarity in the region of Alola. While other locations could give a fine view of one constellation or the other, there were only four that could give a view of them both, one on each island. And even then, Ten Carat Hill gave the most unique view of them all.

It was the perfect place to spend an evening with a loved one. And that's just what a certain young man had in mind when he decided to set up camp one night.

"Ash, do we really have to camp out here tonight?" a young brunette asked as they staked out a small spot on the highest hill in the area.. She wore a plain orange shirt with black shorts, as well as familiar white-and-black biker gloves. Most prominently, a headband with a white semicircle resembling a Pokeball adorned her head.

"Trust me, May," the young man, Ash, said with a big smile as he laid out his sleeping bag. "This is the best place to be on a night like this." Ash wore a blue shirt with short white sleeves. It was similar to a previous shirt he wore, with the primary difference being a large, white rectangle on the front. He wore long, dark pants with red stripes on the sides, as well as dark fingerless gloves with blue cuffs. And, of course, his messy black hair was contained by a bright red cap. This cap in particular had the Alolan insignia of a Pokeball on it, colored black.

"You know, Professor Kukui said we could sleep at his place tonight," May said as she struggled to pull out her sleeping bag from their backpack. "It's been a long time since we were in Alola after all. Wouldn't it be a good idea to spend some time catching up with him?"

"We've got all week to do that," Ash replied without looking up. "I wanted our first night here to be just between the two of us."

May rolled her eyes and chuckled. Ash was hardly the kind of person to do things the way everyone expected him to. He lived life on his own terms, stubbornly refusing to change unless absolutely necessary. While this could make it hard to negotiate with him, it nevertheless gave him a charm that few guys May knew had. Plus, this stubbornness often manifested itself in his unwavering dedication and resolve, something which also attracted her.

"Nngh!" she grunted, trying to pull out her sleeping bag.

At this, Ash looked up. "Need help?"

"No," she replied as she yanked at the bag once again. "I got this!"

Ash just chuckled and shook his head playfully. She could be just as stubborn as him sometimes. "I think you should look at the zipper."

"Zipper?" May blinked. She looked at the half of the sleeping back she'd pulled out and found the zipper to unwrap it. She pulled it and loosened up the bag.

"No no no, not _that_ zipper!"

"What?"

Ash facepalmed and walked over to her. "Here," he said, bending down and grabbing the zipper on the backpack. He pulled it just as she pulled on her sleeping bag once again. The force of pulling it free threw her off balance, prompting Ash to run over and catch her so she didn't fall on her back. Unfortunately, this ended up getting the both of them stuck in May's completely open sleeping bag.

"Augh!" May cried, scrambling about in the bag. "Who turned out the lights?!"

"May, it's nighttime," Ash replied. "The lights were already out. Now hold still."

"EEK! Something touched me!"

"Sorry! That was me!"

"Watch it, will ya?!"

"Okay. Just gimme a sec – ACK!"

"What?! What is it?!"

"Something touched me, too."

"Oh. Is that what just touched my arm?"

"What?! Your arm isn't that soft!"

"Argh! Lemme get the zipper."

"No! That'll just get us even –"

Before he could finish, May pulled the zipper. But instead of making things easier, the bag only grew tighter around them. "Oh no!" she cried.

"Mayyyy," Ash moaned.

"It's okay. I got this! Mmph...urrrgh...great, now the zipper's stuck."

"Lemme see that. Okay, now let me – what?! May, this isn't a zipper! It's Pikachu's tail!"

"What? How did he get in here?"

"Oh, that's right. I let him sleep in here while we came up here."

"Oh, NOW you bring that up."

"Hey, I didn't think –"

" _Piiiikaaaaa...CHUUUUUUUUUU_!"

The electric shock sent the bag flying up into the air before collapsing down in a heap beside them. It also knocked the two of them to the ground, little Oscars and Andis spinning around their heads.

"Owwwwww," May moaned.

"Every time," Ash groaned. "Every. Stinking. Time." Pikachu immediately went back to sleep.

May turned and looked at her sleeping bag. It was smoking slightly. "Aw, man," she moaned again.

"What?"

"I borrowed that sleeping bag from Mom," she said. "Looks like it got a little damaged."

"Uh-oh. Is it one of her favorites?"

"Nah. It's pretty easy to replace."

"All right. Maybe she'll like an Alolan sleeping bag. I'll make sure I get one for her while we're out here."

May nodded and looked back up. Then she gasped. "The sky!"

Ash looked up as well and saw the night sky, covered in a vast array of stars. A smile crossed his face as he stared in awe. "Wow," he said softly. "It's been a long time since I've seen the Alolan night sky."

"Yeah," May agreed as they sat up together. "Is that why you wanted to camp out here tonight?" she asked, turning towards him.

"Of course it is!" he replied, turning to her. "It's just like the night we came home, isn't it?"

"It's even better than I remember," she said, turning back to the sky. He did likewise. "I don't think I've ever seen so many stars in my life. Not even in Hoenn!"

"Kanto's not much better," Ash agreed. "Now let me see…" He scanned the sky, searching for the constellations. He squinted slightly as he struggled to find it. May noticed this after a moment and turned to him.

"Looking for something?"

"Yeah," he said. "You're supposed to be able to see the constellations of the Sunne and Moone from here, but I can't see either one."

"Oh? Hm…" She joined the search. "Do you know what they look like?"

"Here," he said, switching on a flashlight to show her two diagrams. Once she took note of it, he turned the light off. They scanned the sky, searching for the iconic Alolan patterns.

"There!" May exclaimed suddenly, pointing.

"What?" Ash blinked. He followed the direction she was pointing. "Huh – oh! That's it! The constellation of the Sunne!"

"What?" May blinked, turning to him. "You found it?"

"No, you did!" he said, looking back up.

"I did?" she blinked. "No, I found the constellation of the Moone."

"What?" he blinked, turning back to her. "Where?"

"Right there!" she said, pointing in the same direction she pointed in before. Ash looked up and squinted.

"You sure?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure that's the Sunne I'm looking at."

"Positive," she nodded. "It looks exactly like the diagram."

"Huh," he muttered, pulling out the diagrams again. "That's odd." He switched on the flashlight and looked them over. "How are you seeing the Moone when I'm seeing the Sunne?"

"I don't know," May mused, looking the diagrams over. "It's almost like it's –"

At that moment, the answer hit both of them like a Thunderbolt. They looked up at each other briefly in excitement before turning back to the diagrams. Ash took the Sunne diagram while May took the Moone. They placed them one over the other, the Sunne over the Moone, and shone the light on it to see the merged diagram.

"An Eclipse!" they said in unison. Ash turned the light off, and they looked at the sky. Just as they thought, the two constellations were there, creating a unique constellation that matched the merged diagram exactly.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "That's incredible!"

"They complement each other perfectly!" May squealed with delight, clasping her hands. "The Sun and the Moon."

"They're both beautiful on their own," Ash said softly as he stared at the sky.

"But when they come together," May went on, looking up, "they create something even more amazing."

The two of them spent the rest of the night sitting on the top of the hill, staring up at the sky. Ash slowly shifted over, getting closer to May and putting an arm around her. In response, May rested her head on Ash's shoulder. They stayed that way for a while, staring at the incredible constellation. Although the night's heavy slumber slowly called them into a peaceful sleep, they knew that this was going to be a night to remember.

For when the sun and the moon come together, there are few things more beautiful.

* * *

 **And we're off to a strong start! Let's see if I can keep this momentum going.**

 **For those of you who follow Pokemon: Adventures in Alola, please consider giving your opinion in the poll on my profile page.**


	2. Day 2: Horror

**Day 2: Horror**

* * *

"AUUUUGH!"

Ash's eyes shot open, nearly jumping out of his skin. He was laying in his bed and was just getting to sleep, his senses deadening, when the scream completely sharpened them once again.

"Was that May?" he wondered fearfully. He uncovered himself and shivered a moment as the night's chilling wind blew through. Ignoring his body's discomfort, he stood up and put on his pajama pants and a long-sleeve pajama shirt to insulate himself. Then, after grabbing a flashlight and struggling to get out of his room due to his messy floor, he opened the door and stepped out. He turned on his light and shone it around, looking to see if anyone else was awake. There was nothing. At least for now. Seeing this, he shone his light down the hall and slowly made his way towards the stairs.

A sudden click startled him, causing him to whip around and shine his light behind him. He huffed in annoyance when he saw that it was just his door closing of its own accord. "The wind is pretty strong tonight," he muttered to himself as he turned back towards the hall's end.

He looked down the staircase, which appeared to be even longer than usual in the dark night. He slowly stretched his foot out and placed it down on the first step. A small creaking sound could be heard, but it stopped after a while. Once he was secure, he brought his other foot down to the next step. Again, a small creaking, but nothing out of the ordinary. He repeated the process a third time, and the result was the same. Now comfortable, he walked down the stairs at his usual pace and reached the bottom faster than he thought he would.

"May?" he called uncertainly. There was no reply. His chest tightened, and he started to turn towards the living room when a sudden slam nearly knocked him over. Reeling from the shock, he lost his balance. Luckily, the couch was right there, so he moved over to it before he fell down. Once he had control of his body again, he shone the light towards the source of the sound.

Then he sighed in relief. It was just the swing Mom bought. It had fallen down again. Ash grumbled to himself about reminding her to buy a new one (again) as he continued searching the house. "May?" he called again, this time a little louder. Still no response. He shone his light over the living room, illuminating the television, small sofa sitting to the side, Switch docked below the TV...but no May.

Just as he started to get even more worried, he noticed a light go on behind him. He turned and saw that it was coming from the kitchen. Fearing the worst, he grabbed the baseball bat his mom kept handy just in case she needed to clobber any robbers and slowly made his way towards the kitchen, shining his light in there.

"Hello?" he called. Once again, there was no response. He slowly made his way into the kitchen and shone his light around. The table was normal, the cupboards were closed, the digital clock on the microwave pulsed at its normal pace –

"GAHHH!" Ash screamed, jumping back in shock when his light shone on a frightening sight. May was sitting in a chair, completely stiff and unmoving. Her eyes were so wide that her pupils were practically invisible. Most of all, however, her face was as pale as death, her mouth slightly ajar. Now more afraid than ever, Ash slowly came up to her, shining his light on her.

"May?" he said again. There was no response. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, trying to gauge a reaction. Nothing. "May, what happened?" Still no response.

Thinking she saw something terrifying, Ash bent down beside her and followed her gaze. It was fixed on the refrigerator, which was slightly ajar. At that, Ash remembered the light he noticed before, having forgotten about it when he came into the kitchen, and walked forward, still cautious, to inspect the fridge.

He opened the door and looked around. All the food seemed to be the way it was earlier today: the meat was still in the meat drawer, the cheese was still with the dairy, and the apples were fresh as ink in the bottom drawer. Nothing was rotten, everything smelled fine, and the temperature was normal for a refrigerator.

"Was it in here?" he asked, turning towards her. She still didn't respond. He looked back in the fridge, examining each shelf. "I don't see any pests in here. What's in here that could have possibly –"

And then he saw it. "Oh. Oh my goodness." He realized why May was so stiff and pale and utterly horrified.

He rolled his eyes and closed the fridge. "All right, come on," he said, coming up to her. "Let's get back to bed." He picked up her stiff form and carried her bridal-style up to her room. After laying her down in her bed, he went out and closed the door, securing it to make sure nothing could get in. Then he went back to his own room and laid in his bed once again, welcoming the warmth the covers gave him.

"In all seriousness, though," he wondered, "who ate all that leftover ramen?" Unseen by him, Pikachu, curled up in a ball, gave an evil smile before promptly going back to sleep.

* * *

 **I don't know why people like horror so much. I honestly can't stand it, especially after taking a class a few semesters back where we watched two horror movies** **("The Fly" and "Alien")** **over the course of the semester. I didn't actually watch them from start to finish; I'd already seen enough (and for those of you familiar with the material, _yes_ , I did see that one scene in "Alien;" UGH).**

 **That's why I decided to take a different approach to this theme for today. Did I do a good job of emulating a horror atmosphere?**


	3. Day 3: Tragic Romance

**Day Three: Tragic Romance**

* * *

May's face was pressed hard into Ash's chest as she sobbed hysterically. They were sitting on the couch in his home; it was about 11 at night. Ash had been sitting there for about a half-hour now, acting as a sponge for absorbing May's many, many tears. He hadn't realized it was possible for someone to cry this long without drying up. There were several moments where just as it seemed like she would finally stop, she would just break down yet again, continuing to cry loudly into his chest.

"Shhh," Ash whispered soothingly yet again, rubbing her back with his left hand while lightly tousling her hair with his right. He hated to see her cry, especially over something like this. Like many times before, she didn't seem to hear him. He sighed and continued to hold her, slowly rocking her back and forth to soothe her. While he didn't mind being in close contact with her for so long, he knew that this should be the least of his concerns. Glancing at the clock, he realized that he needed to calm her down soon so that they could get to bed at a reasonable hour.

After another five minutes, May's sobs began to ebb away. She loosened her grip on Ash and pulled back so she could wipe her eyes, sniffling as she did so. She pulled a tissue from the box sitting beside them and blew her nose loudly. Ash's hand was still on her back, slowly rubbing it.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked. It was probably the first coherent sentence either of them had said in the last 35 minutes.

"Yeah," May sniffed again, wiping her eyes before blowing her nose once again. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Ash blinked, confused.

"It's probably not worth it to cry so much. We already knew what was gonna happen."

"Don't say that," Ash said, putting his hand over hers. "Even if we knew what would happen, it's still a tragedy. It's okay to cry."

"I know," she said, "but I think I'm overreacting a little bit."

"No you're not," Ash replied with a soft smile. "My mom would react the same way."

"She would?"

"Yeah."

May smiled softly and hugged Ash. "I don't know why you put up with my antics, but I'm glad you do."

Ash smiled again as he hugged her back. "It's because I love you," he whispered in her ear, prompting a dark red blush on her face.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I love you too," she said. She then leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. They sat there for a few seconds, enjoying the warm feeling of their lips, before breaking apart and resting their foreheads against each other. "Well, we should probably go to bed," she said, her smile fading slightly.

"Yeah," he nodded, his expression mirroring hers.

With that, she stood up and headed up the stairs to her room. "Good night, Ash."

"Good night, May," he replied. After a moment, he stood up to go to bed himself. As he passed the TV, he looked down at the case for the movie they'd watched.

" _West Side Story_ ," he mumbled. "Maybe next time I should go for a comedy."

* * *

 **Yeah, I went for another subversion here. I kinda like this one; not as much as some of the others, but it's still cute.**

 **On another note, WOW. Talk about late! I talked all this excitement about participating in Advanceshipping Week again after skipping out one year...and then disappear after Day 2!? Well, I DO have a reasonable excuse: computer trouble. I also have a dumb excuse: procrastination.**

 **Well, everthing's done now. Enjoy the rest!**


	4. Day 4: Medieval AU

**Day Four: Medieval AU**

* * *

"The shrines of the tapus," she mused as she flipped through a book, curiously examining the pictures in there. "Could the power housed in those places be the keys to destroying the demons that plague our land?" She looked over at the stack of books beside her. "What curious legends surround our world." She picked up another book and started flipping through it.

Princess Haruka Maybelline of Hoenn was the eldest in her royal family and heir to the throne. Although her desire to see the world conflicted with this duty, she nevertheless put aside her dreams, knowing that her kingdom was far more important. Her brunette hair, usually forced into two large pom-poms for formal occasions, hung loose at her sides in an upside-down 'V' shape. Her family considered this unnatural and insisted that she wear her hair formally all the time, but she never listened. She would usually dress up in a very fancy pink gown for formal occasions, and while she didn't mind wearing that dress, it would usually grow to be uncomfortable after a while, especially if she was sitting on a throne. Right now, she was wearing much more informal red garb, including a pair of red trousers. Her family hated that she dressed like this, but she found the trousers comfortable. But of all her clothing, one thing remained constant: the red bow in her hair. She always liked the way it looked on her, and it was one of the few things her family never objected to, even at formal events. As such, she was rarely seen without it.

"Lugia and Ho-Oh," she mused as she flipped through yet another book. "Guardians of the sea and sky respectively?" She frowned as she closed the book. "What good are guardians if they won't even bother helping us stop those demons running through our land?"

She closed the book and was about to reach for another when she heard the door to her study open. She turned and gasped in alarm, fearful that someone from her family would come in. However, her fears turned to annoyance when she saw the familiar silhouette. "Princess Haruka Maybelline?"

"Yes?" she huffed, not even bothering to hide her annoyance.

The figure in the doorway entered the room cautiously, leaving the door slightly ajar so as not to give a wrong impression to people outside. He strode up to her formally and bowed. In response, she stood up and gave a ditzy curtsey, barely putting any effort into it. "I am pleased to see you safe, milady. I shall remain here to ensure that you rema -"

"What do you want?" she snapped in irritation. Her companion stopped, surprised at her abruptness.

Satoshi Joash NeKent was a knight in the royal court. Although he was a foreigner, he came from a nation that was on good terms with Hoenn. He proved to be an exceptional swordsman, and among his fellow knights he had neither equal nor superior. Not even Sir Paul of Sinnoh was able to best him, though the knight confessed that the Sinnoh native was a powerful opponent. Despite his strength, the Kantonian knight remained humble, refusing to indulge in pride. He could often be seen wearing typical knight's garb: a blue tunic over light trousers. For important occasions, he would don a special outfit that resembled that of an Aura Guardian who lived long ago. This sparked rumors among the people of the kingdom, the princess included, that this knight was descended from the same Aura Guardian. But whenever anyone dared to ask him about his lineage, he would refuse to answer.

"I am here on orders from the king," he replied, unmoving. "He has assigned me to protect you."

"Father?" the princess muttered, her voice barely discernible, although the knight could hear her.

"Yes, that is right," he replied.

She looked up at him, clearly displeased. "Why didn't he send you out to protect us from the demons?" she growled. "After all, who better to combat such a powerful threat than the king's best knight?"

"The king wishes for his daughter to be safe from all harm," he replied, still unmoving. "As such, he has assigned his best knight to protect her."

At this, the princess lost it. In one swift motion, she raised her arm and slapped her protector across the face. He flinched, bringing his hand up to his cheek, before looking back at her. "Go back to my father," she growled, "and tell him that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. I will not be treated like an artifact!"

"Milady," the knight replied, "my orders came directly from the king himself. I cannot defy his -"

"I SAID GET OUT!" the princess screamed, pushing him away. Though he tried to keep a stoic face, he couldn't help but flinch a little at her sudden scream.

"Very well, milady," he said, bowing. "I will speak to his majesty and see if anything can be done." With that, he turned and removed himself from her presence, slowly closing the door behind him.

"Boy, that ended a lot worse than I thought it would," he muttered, dropping the formal facade. "The king's not gonna be happy about this." With that, he started walking down the hall to the throne room.

* * *

 **I had a different idea for this one that involved the support system from recent Fire Emblem games. But this started to drag a little long, so I decided to upload this as it was. However, I'm kinda interested in this medieval AU that I've created. I know it's kinda cliche, but I've never really delved into AUs like this before; I was never interested. Now, however, I'm thinking about a potential full-fledged story, or maybe an ongoing serial story like "Adventures in Alola."**

 **Let's see if anyone can guess where this scene's inspiration came from (Fire Emblem aside).**


	5. Day 5: Coffee Shop AU

**Day Five: Coffee Shop AU**

* * *

It was about noon when she finally managed to evade the paparazzi. By then, she was thoroughly exhausted from all the attention. While she enjoyed speaking with her fans and inspiring them, her enjoyment didn't stop her from getting tired. And since she had been up since 6 in the morning, she was more than happy to steal away for a moment or two.

Or maybe ten thousand, she thought.

May Maple sighed as she walked down the street. To keep people from recognizing her, she wore a pair of sunglasses over her bagged sapphire eyes while her normally v-shaped brown hair was tied back into a ponytail. Her first month of being a top coordinator had been long and tiring, but this was the worst it had been so far. Thankfully, things seemed to have finally calmed down, if only for a minute. Whether it was a minute, a second, or even a millisecond, May only had one goal in that time: to get as much relaxing in as she could.

She stopped in front of Celadon City's old Celadon Coffee Catch store in the sparsely-inhabited downtown, where people were much less likely to recognize her. After a brief moment to think, she opened the door, which jingled as she did so, and walked up to the front counter.

"Afternoon, miss," the barista said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Uh," May muttered, squinting at the menu, "just plain coffee, please."

"Plain coffee?" her companion repeated. "We don't exactly serve plain coffee."

"Huh?"

"I can give you a small homebrewed decaf if you want," the barista offered, showing off her pearly whites with a friendly smile.

"What?" May blinked, confused. "No, I just want a medium coffee, that's all. Please?"

Her companion chuckled. "You don't drink coffee much, do you?"  
"Is it that obvious?" The two of them chuckled at this.

"All right," the barista said, jotting down her order. "Your name?"  
"Haruka," May replied, not wanting to cause a scene again.

"All right. Go ahead and take a seat; I'll call you when your drink is ready."

"Thank you!" May smiled. With that, she walked over and sank into a seat at a table for two. She sighed softly as she lowered her sunglasses from her eyes, which drooped. Her eyelids closed softly as she sat there, resting her eyes while on the edge of consciousness and sleep. Although her brain took in everything that was happening around her - the coffee machine whirring, the jingle of the door opening, the barista taking another order - it registered none of it. Such was her exhaustion, which she hoped a cup of joe would ameliorate.

"Hey, May."  
"Huh?!" she jolted up, fully awake at the sound of her name. It took her a moment to grasp the fact that someone was sitting across from her, likely the person who spoke her name. "Who -?!"

The person just chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't know you were napping."

May blinked and rubbed her eyes. "No - I wasn't napping - I was - Ash?!"

Her best friend was sitting across from her, giving her that same kind-hearted gaze she loved. "Didn't sleep well, did ya?"

"Ah - n-no," she shook her head, still in a stupor. "I didn't. I got up early and - and…" she trailed off as she finally regained her senses.

"And?" Ash asked, giving a smirk. In response, May stood up, pulled him up with her, and hugged him. He chuckled lightly and hugged her back, smelling her perfume. "Hey...your hair…"

"Yeah, I know," she said, pulling back and adjusting it, making sure the ponytail was still secure. "Not exactly my style."

"Oh!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. "Jeez, I didn't even notice that."

"What?"

"I just noticed that you used a different perfume, that's all," Ash said. "What was that, kiwi lime?"

"Oh!" May realized what he meant. "Yeah, that. Heh."

"Whatever happened to the strawberry you usually wear?"

In response, May looked around, then sat herself down, pulling Ash with her. "People tend to recognize me by the strawberry perfume I wear," she said. "I was getting swarmed by fans earlier, and once I got a break, I changed perfume so they wouldn't catch me as easily."

"Oh," Ash nodded in understanding. "I guess that explains the hair, huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded back.

"I see. Well, it looks good on you."

"You think so?" May blinked.

"Yeah. Maybe not as much as your normal style, but I still like it." He wrinkled his nose slightly. "Although the kiwi lime's a little sour on the nose."

"Yeah," May agreed, lightly rubbing her nose. "Well, at least it gets the job done."

"Satoshi and Haruka!" the barista called.

Ash stood up. "That's my order," he said. "Be right back."

May stood up with him. "Well, that's my order, to," she winked. "I'll come with you." Ash chuckled, and they made their way to the counter.

"There you go," the barista smiled. "Enjoy!"

May looked at her cup, which had "Haru" written on it. Ash looked at his as well; it had "Sato" written on it. They took their cups back to their seats and sat down. May took a sip from her beverage. She grimaced slightly at the taste, but swallowed it down. She wasn't used to the taste of coffee. Ash, meanwhile, calmly took a sip before placing his cup back on the table.

"So, what are you doing here?" May asked.

"I had a bad morning," Ash replied. "I barely got any sleep last night, and since I woke up late, I didn't have time to get anything to eat or drink before my battle." He sipped his coffee again. "I would've gotten a soda pop or something otherwise."

"Your battle...against Erika?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded.

"How'd that go?"

"Pretty poorly, I'm afraid," he said before taking another sip. "I was too tired to focus."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"It's all right," he smiled. "She said she understood that I wasn't up to the task and offered a rematch any time."

"That's nice," May smiled back, sipping her own coffee. "She seems like a very understanding person."

"Yeah," Ash said after taking another sip, suddenly breaking into a coughing fit.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he coughed again before getting a grip. "Must've gone down the wrong throat or something."

"It happens," she giggled.

"Yeah," he agreed, clearing his throat while apparently holding his cup out. Seeing an opportunity, May lifted her cup and clinked it against his. He looked up on hearing the sound.

"Cheers?" May offered.

Ash looked at his cup and hers, then smiled when he figured it out. "Cheers," he agreed. They clinked again and sipped. After a while, they set their cups to the side, still half-full, and spent the rest of the hour chatting about old times. Their cups remained to the side, with only two words visible. But when looked at from a certain angle, they looked like one word:

 _SatoHaru_.

* * *

 **In my opinion, this is the weakest oneshot in this bunch.**


	6. Day 6: Wishes

**Day Six: Wishes**

* * *

Ash walked through the streets of Castelia City, hands in his pockets and eyes cast down, hidden under his hat. The street lights illuminated his path, as did the light of the moon. The city was surprisingly quiet, given its reputation as one of the busiest cities in the world. He wasn't sure if that was comforting or not, but at least nobody was around to unnecessarily pry.

Ash looked up at the moon wistfully. It was full tonight. Normally looking up at it would make him feel more peaceful, but tonight it just made him feel lonelier than he already felt. His friends were asleep at the Pokemon Center, as were his badly injured Pokemon. He clenched his teeth and jerked his head away as he thought of their awful state.

 _And it's all my fault_ he thought. _If only I hadn't challenged that jerk to a battle. We'd all be together happily sleeping tonight._ He sighed somberly. _I wish I could travel back in time to tell myself not to battle him._

Eventually, he grew tired of walking, so he turned around and walked back to the Pokemon Center. With Nurse Joy half-asleep at the front desk, not a sound could be heard in the quiet facility. Ash walked into his room and decided to get ready for bed. As he took his essentials out of his pockets, he noticed a light blinking on his cell phone. Curious, he picked it up and turned on the screen.

 _Ten new messages?_ he thought when he saw a voicemail notification. _Ugh. Let's just get this over with._ He dialed up his voicemail and put the phone on speaker while he changed into his pajamas. Predictably, they were all meaningless: a sponsor who wanted Ash to represent their new brand of PokeGear, a fangirl who somehow got his number and asked questions he would rather not answer, and a mother who clearly spoiled her son so much that she was willing to ask Ash to drop everything and come to Johto just so her son could battle him. Ash snorted in disgust at this, as he heard the boy demanding Ash follow through. He walked over and flicked the delete button. When his phone informed him that the message was deleted, he continued his evening routine as though nothing happened. The messages continued, though they weren't nearly as bad this time: a young trainer who wanted Ash to know how inspiring he was, an adorable kid who wished him a happy birthday (even though his birthday was a long ways off), and a prank call from a sponsor. Despite his depression, Ash's mouth twitched briefly into a smirk. That smirk vanished quickly when the next few messages played. Someone from Petalburg City, who was apparently still sour about how Ash walloped the whole town years ago, said some nasty things about him that made him want to smash his phone to pieces. With his evening routine finished, he swatted the delete button again and sat down by his phone to finish listening to the messages, depressed once again. Another message, this one a death threat for no reason other than the fact that Ash existed at all. He promptly pushed the delete button. The next message was no better, and Ash, deciding he'd heard enough, pushed the delete button and went over to the bed. He'd finish listening to his messages in the morning. He started to get in bed when the last message started to play:

 _Hi, Ash? It's me, May._

Ash froze. _May?_ A spark of life reanimated him, and he quickly came back to the phone to listen.

 _I just wanted to see how you were doing. I had a bit of a rough day today, and I was feeling a little dejected at the Pokemon Center._

 _Yeah, I know how that feels_ Ash thought.

 _But then I thought about you, and I started to cheer up. I also started to feel nostalgic, so I just thought I'd call and say hi._ He heard her sigh on the other end of the line. _Looks like I called at a bad time, huh?_

Ash sighed as well, wishing that he'd known she would call. He would have gladly picked up the phone just to talk to her again after so long.

 _Anyway, I just want you to know that I miss you and that I think about you everyday. Sinnoh's great and all, but being here without you just takes half the fun out of my journey._ She sighed again. _I really wish I could see you right now, Ash._

 _Yeah, me too, May_ Ash thought.

 _Anyway, if you have time, feel free to call me back. I'd love to hear from you after so long._ She paused, sighing once again. _Okay, that's all. Bye, Ash. Love ya!_ With that, the message ended.

Ash sat there a moment, replaying May's message through his mind, before his phone snapped him out of his stupor by asking him if he wanted to delete the message. He looked at his phone and instinctively hovered over the delete button before stopping himself. He redirected his finger and pushed the save button. He then hung up the phone and started dialing a special number. Once he finished dialing, he held the phone to his ear. He heard the familiar ringing sound that signaled that the phone was trying to connect.

 _Come on_ he thought. _Come on._

He heard someone on the other end of the line pick up. "Hello?" came a voice.

"May? Is that you?" he asked.

"Yeah," May replied.

"Hey May," he said with a smile. "It's me, Ash."

* * *

 **This isn't much better than the last one. I'm not sure I even adhered to the theme well enough. The main reason this is better than the last one is the whole voicemail segment, which I kinda had fun with.**

 **The next theme was my choice. Any guesses as to what I picked?**


	7. Day 7: ?-?-?

**Day Seven: Crossover**

* * *

The desolation in the city made it difficult to take a nice, morning walk. Small flames were everywhere, and the rubble made even the simplest path a chore to navigate. That alone was hard enough, but the pollution produced by the fire and local factories made it difficult to breathe.

None of that stopped May Maple from navigating through the city in search of any survivors, and maybe a friend-turned-foe. She climbed over another piece of what she guessed used to be a wall and dropped into a small clearing. There, she noticed a familiar figure standing a short distance away.

"Shadow?"

The figure turned towards her, almost lifelessly, and glared in her direction. "Shadow, what's going on?" she asked. "Please, talk to me!" Shadow didn't respond. Instead, he dashed towards her and jumped in the air to attack her. She shut her eyes and put her hands out, bracing herself for the impact, only to hear a weird static sound. She looked up, confused, and saw that Shadow was gone. "What? Shadow, where did you –?"

"Hehehahahaha," a familiar voice sneered. "You make this too easy, little girl."

May turned and looked up to see a fearsome figure standing over her. "You!"

"You might as well be the poster girl for the resistance," he sneered, slowly floating down until he was slightly above her eye level. "Helpless, pathetic, and utterly alone."

"I am not helpless!" she snapped back, pulling out a Pokeball. "And I'm not alone, either! Go, Blaziken!" She threw the ball, but before it could release its Pokemon, it stopped in midair as a strange static effect surrounded it. "What?!"

"These capsules you fools use are interesting," the villain said. "It's a shame they're no match for my power." With that, he threw the ball back at May, smacking her in the face.

"Ah!" she cried, gingerly rubbing her face. "My poor nose," she mumbled.

"Hardly a nose if you ask me," he sneered as he pushed his mask up on his face. "Even the little blue savior had more than that."

"Shut up!" she shouted back, slowly circling him. "You're not going to win that easily!"

"Oh really?" he said. If his mouth were visible, May guessed he would be smirking. "Your words mean just as much as the rest of the rabble: nothing."

"Then it's a whole lot of nothing!" she replied with a grin. "HYAH!" The villain was caught off-guard by the large rock that slammed into his masked face. He realized that she had been distracting him with small talk while she grabbed a makeshift weapon.

"You," he snarled as his one visible eye moved erratically in his head. "You hurt me... _I've been hurt._ " He threw his head back as power surged forth from him. Before May knew what was happening, she found herself in a strange, red space. Visual glitches appeared here and there.

"Uh-oh," she mumbled.

"I will eradicate you and your pathetic resistance," the villain declared, his voice echoing through the space. May tried to cover her ears, but her arms wouldn't move. She felt herself get drawn up towards him and soon found herself involuntarily face-to-face with him. "Yes," he hissed. "I can see the fear in your eyes. You're terrified." He chuckled darkly. "How wonderful."

"Let me go!" she screamed, trying to smack him with her hands. Of course, her hands wouldn't respond.

"Perhaps I'll let you live," he said, "so that you may be a symbol of fear for the rest of the rabble. Then their courage will –"

His speech was interrupted by something slicing through him, breaking his hold on the frightened girl so that she fell to the ground, landing hard on her side. "Augh!" she groaned. "Nnngh." She got on her knees, wincing at the pain.

"Now what?!" the villain grumbled. He looked up and saw a large, green reptilian Pokemon glaring at him through angry yellow eyes.

May instantly recognized the Pokemon. "Sceptile?" The Sceptile turned to her and offered her its hand. She took it and stood up. As she did so, her Pokeball dropped off of her waist and involuntarily activated, releasing her Blaziken. On seeing Sceptile, her eyes narrowed slightly, as did Sceptile's, as though they'd met before. But they quickly put this aside as they glared at their common foe. May, however, realized what this meant. "Wait a minute," she said. "There's only one Sceptile my Blaziken has a competitive history with." She looked at Sceptile, daring to hope for the absolute best. "Are you –?"

"I hate it when they come in at the last second," the villain growled, interrupting her. "Two powerful Pokemon? How amusing. It takes more than evolution to withstand my power." As he spoke, several red cubes appeared around him. He threw them at the Pokemon and trainer, turning their vision red.

"No!" May cried, unable to grasp her surroundings. "Blaziken!" She couldn't hear her Pokemon due to the static that was pounding in her ears, nor could Blaziken hear her. Sceptile was in a similar predicament, until he heard a familiar voice. He immediately snapped out of it and leapt up, slashing the villain with another Leaf Blade attack.

"What?!" he exclaimed as his hold on May and Blaziken broke. "How did you –?"

"Did ya miss me, you masked clown?"

May gasped and turned towards the voice. _It's him!_ she thought joyfully, her hands over her mouth as tears started to form in her eyes.

"You again?" the villain said, sounding slightly surprised. "I thought you'd run away in fear."

"Sorry, pal," Ash Ketchum retorted, "but that's just not how I roll. Not even when I don't know what I'm up against." He was standing a short distance away from May. "I guess I'll call you the nameless villain, eh?"

"I prefer to be called Infinite," the villain replied.

"Is that what your friends call you?" Ash said mockingly. "Oh, wait, I forgot: you don't have any. Or if you did, then you probably killed them all!" His mocking swiftly turned to anger. "You're gonna pay for murdering that innocent man back in Pallet Town, and for every other innocent life you've taken!"

"Another average day in the life of Infinite," Infinite replied, hovering away. "But I have other matters to attend to. Besides, you're probably not worth finishing off." Before they knew what was happening, he disappeared.

"Who's running away now, you monster?" Ash snarled under his breath. After a moment, he regained his composure and turned to Sceptile. "Great work Sceptile," he said, recalling him. "Get a rest. I have a feeling you're gonna need it." He turned to May. "Are you okay?"

May said nothing, her hands still over her mouth. Blaziken, sensing what was about to happen, pushed the button on her Pokeball and recalled herself. After a moment, May's hands came down to her chest. Her heart was beating quickly.

"Ash," she whispered.

Ash smiled softly at her as small tears formed in his eyes as well. "Sorry I missed our date," he said.

At that, May couldn't hold back anymore. She ran forward and threw her arms around him in a tight, passionate embrace which Ash was only so happy to return. The two of them stood there, holding each other in their arms for the first time in months. Tears poured down May's face as she sobbed into his shoulder, while two small tears trickled down his face as well.

"I can't believe it," she said through her sobs. "I just can't believe it."

Ash didn't say anything, knowing full well that this was one of those times where she just needed to cry. He slowly rubbed her back, comforting her. He could smell a faint hint of strawberry from her hair, although this got mostly lost due to the atmosphere they were in.

Finally, May stopped sobbing and pulled back a little so she could look into Ash's eyes. Her arms were still around his neck, while his were around her waist. "Sorry," she said, pulling back her hand for a moment to wipe her eyes. "I just thought I'd never see you again."

"It's all right," Ash replied sadly. "I thought the same thing. After I saw what happened to Pallet Town, I got really worried about everyone, especially you." He tightened his grip on her. "Is everyone all right?"

"No," she shook her head sadly. "As far as we know, Sonic is gone."

"What?! How –"

Before they could say anything else, a rumbling sound interrupted them, shaking them so that they clung to each other to stay safe. "I think we need to get out of here," May said. "Do you have Charizard with you?"

"Yeah," he replied, pulling out a Pokeball and releasing his draconic Pokemon. "Do you know where we can go?"

"Yes," she nodded as they mounted Charizard. "Follow my directions. I'll explain everything on the way."

Ash nodded, uncertainty clouding his eyes. As Charizard took to the air, he thought of what May said earlier. _We lost Sonic? But how?_

* * *

 **This was originally going to be part of my Sonic Forces Final Countdown series. Then that got scrapped due to computer issues, so this got left in the dust. I decided to refine it for this little collection.**

 **And that'll do it! Admittedly, none of these stories were able to top Day 1 in my opinion, but I still think they're mostly good. What did you think? Feel free to rate and review, but no flames please! With that, thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya later!**


End file.
